Chapter 17 #2
She’s quiet for a moment. “I miss you too. I’ll call and check on you later, okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Love you.” But she hangs up before I can say it back.
I stuff my phone in my jeans pocket, take several deep breaths, then paste on a smile and head inside.
Everyone is in the kitchen except for Alex’s dad, who’s still at the clinic. Everyone looks up when I walk in, and I drop my gaze, hoping they don’t notice my red eyes.
“There you are,” Valerie says. “I wondered where you’d gone off too.”
“I told Mom you and Alex were probably spending some time alone,” Mallory says in a knowing voice.
My face heats with embarrassment twice over. First, that she thought we were having sex, and second, because Alex is probably gagging at the thought.
“But then Alex came down without you,” Valerie says. “Then we really wondered where you got off to, but then Tyler said you were outside talking to your friend.” She pauses. “You didn’t have to go outside, Finley. You’re welcome to use the office anytime you like.”
“Thanks,” I say, walking over to the island where everyone’s dishing up their bowls. “It sure smells good.”
“Help yourself,” she says.
I grab a bowl and add a scoop. I can feel Alex’s gaze on me, but I ignore him as I add some cheese to my chili then sit down at the table.
Alex tries to sit by me at the table. Maybe he thinks he needs to be the dutiful boyfriend, but Mallory slips into the chair beside me with a laugh before he can take a seat. “Sorry,” she says, sounding anything but. “You get her all the time. It’s my turn.”
Mallory and Valerie keep the conversation flowing, with Alex and Tyler chiming in only when prompted. Or when Alex aims something directly at me. I answer, hoping I’m coming across as normal. I need to get over this irrational hurt, or this won’t work. But I need more time.
Once we finish lunch, we start cleaning up, but Valerie shoos us away. “Alex, you and Finley take off for the market. Since it’s her first time, she’ll probably want the whole afternoon.”
The thought of being alone with Alex makes my stomach knot, so I blurt out, “Mallory, would you like to come with us?”
Her eyes light up, but then she glances at her brother. “I don’t want to be the third wheel on your date.”
“It’s not a date,” I say before Alex can respond. “We’re just shopping.”
She brightens again, though more cautiously. “Are you sure?”
“Of course.” I glance over at Alex. “Right?”
“Yeah,” he says evenly. He doesn’t look upset, but he doesn’t look happy, either.
“You know what?” Tyler cuts in, eyes locked with his brother. “I think I’ll come too.”
Valerie, Alex, and Mallory all start talking at once.
“What?” Valerie exclaims.
“When was the last time you went to the Christmas market?” Mallory demands.
“Why?” Alex growls, eyes blazing.
Tyler shrugs, looking his brother directly in the eye. “You all said caroling was fun last night, so I figure I might as well try the market this afternoon.”
The blood drains from my head. Is Tyler coming because he found me crying? Because he knows Alex ditched caroling?
“I think we should drive separate cars,” Alex says flatly. “In case you want to leave before Finley’s done shopping.”
“Sure.” Tyler locks eyes with Alex like they’re in a staring contest. “I’m good with separate cars. I suspect I’ll be ready to leave in an hour or so.”
Mallory snorts. “As if you’ll last that long. You hate shopping.”
He shrugs, unfazed. “Things change.” Then he heads for the stairs. “Give me five minutes to go change clothes.”
Fair enough since he’s wearing a pair of black sweatpants and a long-sleeve T-shirt.
“If we’re driving separately, we can just meet you there,” Alex calls after him, as he bounds up the stairs.
“It won’t hurt to wait,” Valerie says.
“Ten seconds ago, you were telling us to leave cleaning up the kitchen to you so we could get going,” he grumbles.
“Oh, Alex,” she says with a disappointed sigh. “He’s making an effort. Can you say the same?”
Alex clams up. Mallory drops her gaze, clearly wanting no part in this round.
What is going on with these two? I know about Alex’s rivalry with his younger brother, but he never mentioned problems with Tyler. They seemed okay last night. But I can’t ignore that Tyler assumed Alex was the reason I was crying.
I pitch in with the cleanup while we wait, but there’s barely a mess. By the time we’re done, Tyler appears in jeans and a black puffy coat.
“Ready.”
Mallory insists I wear her coat again, so we grab our outerwear off the pegs in the mudroom. Tyler beelines toward the Jeep Wagoneer, and Alex stops on the driveway. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Dude.” Tyler opens the driver’s door. “You know I call dibs on the Wagoneer when I’m home.”
“Mom gave it to me to drive last night to pick up Finley.”
“That was last night,” Tyler says slowly, like Alex might not be the brightest bulb. “You can borrow Mom’s car.” He slides in behind the wheel. “Or ride with Mal.”
Mallory is already in the Honda parked in front of the Jeep, engine rumbling.
Alex looks ready to call the whole thing off, but instead, he presses his palm to the small of my back and guides me over to Mallory’s car. When he opens the front passenger door, I say, “Alex, you can sit in front.”
“Nope.” His voice is firm but gentle. “You ride with my sister, and I’ll hop in with Tyler. We need to talk. But first…”
He crooks a finger under my chin, tipping my face up until our eyes lock. His voice drops. “Are we okay?”
My breath catches, traitorous, even though he practically gags at the thought of me. I force myself to sound casual. “Why wouldn’t we be?”
He lifts a brow. When I don’t answer, he leans closer. “Tell me what I need to do to make this less awkward.”
The easy answer would be nothing’s awkward, but we both know that’s a lie. “I’ll be fine. I just need some time.”
He looks like he’s about to press, but I slip free and climb into Mallory’s car. I expect him to get in the back seat. Instead, he strides to the Jeep, yanks open the passenger door, and hops in.
He barely shuts the door before the arguing begins.
“What’s happening?” I blurt before I think better of it.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Mallory says, a spark of excitement in her voice as she watches them in the rearview mirror.
Based on my chat with Tyler, I can only imagine what they’re arguing about. But there’s a good chance this has nothing to do with me and everything to do with some old sibling grudge. “Are they in the middle of some kind of fight?”
“They’re not exactly besties,” she says, still watching. “But last I knew, they weren’t mid-battle either.
I can’t see much through the side mirror, so I throw subtlety out the window and turn around to watch outright.
“I know Alex has a rivalry with Grant,” I say carefully. “He told me Grant was supposed to get their room, but we’d be sleeping in there instead.”
She releases a short laugh. “Yeah, and Tyler’s convinced that’s the real reason Alex brought you.”
My stomach lurches. “What?”
“Oh, don’t worry.” She gives me a reassuring smile. “Mom and I don’t buy it.”
“What about your dad?”
She shrugs. “Who knows? He rarely weighs in on family things like that.”
Is that what Alex and Tyler are arguing so heatedly about in the car behind us?
Mallory pulls forward toward the detached garage, then backs down the opposite side of the driveway. She flashes me a grin. “No reason to sit here while they duke it out. Otherwise, we’d be parked all day.”
Alex cuts the argument short, his gaze locking on us as Mallory backs past. Mallory wiggles her fingers in a mocking wave. “Bye!” Even if he can’t hear her, it’s not that hard to lip read.
“Maybe I should wait for Alex,” I say.
“Pleasssse,” she drawls. “It’s not like the town’s big. They’ll find us.”
We head toward the square, then turn to the right. Cars are parked all along the street, but she finds a spot in a big lot after circling for a few minutes. “I suppose we could have walked from the house,” she says. “But then we wouldn’t have gotten to watch my two brothers arguing.”
She’s clearly amused, but my stomach’s in knots. What if the truth about Alex and me comes out?
“Don’t look so worried,” Mallory says as she kills the engine. “They’ll show up in two minutes acting like nothing happened.”
Only, when they appear, just as we’re about to step onto the street lined with canopies and tents, it’s obvious they are not in a joking around mood. Both look stormy.
“There you are,” Mallory says brightly, as if she hasn’t noticed. “We thought you might have gotten lost.”
“We would have made it sooner if—” Alex cuts himself off and I see Mallory giving him a glare that could rival any mother’s look. “We’re here.”
“So you are.” She beams. “And we’re going to have a wonderful time, because little Finley loves all things Christmas. And we’re not going to ruin it for her, are we?”
To my surprise, they both mumble, “No.”
Hoping to break the tension, I say, “How can you call me little Finley when I’m five years older than you?”
“You’re about an inch shorter,” she counters, holding her hand level with my forehead. “Which makes you little. Or I can go with Wee Little Finley if you prefer.”
I can’t help laughing. “As long as I get to check out the Christmas market, I’ll answer to whatever you want.”
Mallory shoots her brothers a satisfied look. “See? Finley’s being cooperative. You two should give it a try.” She loops her arm through mine and marches us straight into the main aisle between the booths.
Mallory might be determined to spread Christmas cheer, but judging by the glares at my back, peace on earth is still up for debate.